Abbey Road Studios Tour (pictures)

A tour of the iconic and historic Abbey Road Studios in London.

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Studio One

Behold! The huge Studio One. Originally that far end of the room had a stage to record big bands. The day I visited they were set up to record a small orchestra. A lot of film scores are recorded in this room.

The back room

Analog Reverb

These days, an artist can add reverb just by turning a knob or clicking a mouse. In the early days of Abbey Road, it wasn't so easy. To get the desired amount, the speaker in the center of the room would play back a track, and the microphones would pick up the echo in this concrete box. The pillars "tune" the sound.

Just a piano?

Pushed up against the wall in Studio Two, tucked behind some other uprights, is one of the most expensive pianos in the world. Yep, that ugly light-brown thing is worth about $1.2 million.
Why? Because that piano is this piano. And this.
I touched it. Rent the room to record, and you can just use it.

Studio Three

Mirror, mirror...

Not sure what you're looking at? Imagine standing in it. This room's walls and ceiling are almost entirely mirrors. It's incredibly disorienting. I believe this was created in the 80s. Oh who am I kidding, of course it was. In what other decade would something like this have been created?